Crave (His Second Chance with Heiress Bryn Christmas Duet #1) - Z.L. Arkadie Page 0,2

and left me. The wisest decision would have been to get as far away from him as possible, but still, I wasn’t ready to leave him just yet, and that worried me.

“My brother Asher got married this weekend at the family estate,” I said.

He nodded. “I heard. It was a big deal, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know about that, but the day was magical for us. Being that it was a new home and the old memories had been…” I smashed my lips. That was enough talk about me. “What about you? I mean, do you have connections in Rhode Island?”

Jamison shook his head and pursed his lips.

His evasiveness annoyed me. “You can’t tell me because you’re doing your father’s bidding, I presume.” That was prickly, and I immediately wanted to take back those words.

A cynical sniff accompanied Jamison’s smirk. “No.” He licked his kissable lips, and gosh, it was so sexy. Get a grip, Bronwyn Henrietta Christmas. Get ahold of yourself.

“Visiting a girlfriend?” I asked. Damn it, I am on a roll.

He shook his head and, after a two-beat pause, said, “No.”

Bingo. I’d hit the nail on the head. “So, you do have a girlfriend, then?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “Did I say I had a girlfriend? I don’t think I do.”

“Well, you’re not referring to her as a ‘girlfriend.’ But you’ve flown all this way to be with her, so she may believe you’re her boyfriend.”

Jamison tossed his head back and laughed. “I see you’re still creative.”

“Am I wrong?”

“You’re wrong.”

“About which part?”

Our gazes locked. It was as if the chatter, glasses clinking, and voices calling flight numbers over the loudspeaker had faded to silence. I felt my chest rise and fall with each breath. Shit. His nearness was slaying my heart, and I couldn’t stop it from happening if I stayed in his presence for too long.

“Bryn.” His whisper echoed so loudly in my ears. “Again, I’m sorry.”

I opened my mouth then closed it. I couldn’t speak, because if I did, my heart would betray my head. But I did appreciate his sincerity. I was sorry, too, but I was too choked up to say it.

Then I heard, “Flight 3345 to Denver, Colorado, is now boarding.”

“That’s me.” My tight throat made my words come out strained.

“You live in Denver?”

I eased off the stool, and then we were standing close enough that the strong connection between us completely overwhelmed me. “No,” I barely said. “I have a client.”

His eyebrows flew up and stayed there. “A client?”

I nodded gently. “Yes.”

“What are you doing these days?”

My lips wanted his, and I could sense that his wanted mine. But I wished I’d never run into Jamison Cox, because there could be no future for us as a couple. It was apparent that he was still working for his father, Boomer, who was a bad man and a foe of my family. I couldn’t be stupid. Jamison’s father would have been happy if my brother and I had gone to prison for something we hadn’t done. To Boomer, that would have been a win. But was that the real reason I was afraid to let my heart get attached to him again? I didn’t know.

“Good seeing you. Take care of yourself, Jamison.” I quickly turned my back on him and walked away as fast as I could, trying not to run.

“Bryn?” he called.

I wanted my feet to keep shuffling, but they stopped and turned me around. We stared at each other. Why do I want to cry? Why does my heart feel shattered by him for a second time?

He rubbed the back of his neck. “See you around.”

See me around? He would never see me again. I would make sure of that. So without another word, I turned my back on Jamison Cox and finished making my escape.

Chapter Two

Bryn Christmas

The airplane soared steadily through the sky after a bumpy start. I was seated next to a girl who was about eleven or twelve years old. The last time her cell phone had been out of her hands was right before takeoff. She had sat her device on top of the bin between our seats to scarf down two complimentary preflight hot chocolate chip cookies. Once we reached cruising altitude, her eyes were fixed on the screen. I loved sitting next to kids on airplanes, but she was obviously not in the mood for conversation, so I sparked up my laptop, hooked into the secure onboard network, and tried to do some work. Unfortunately, I couldn’t shake